Walmart Church Devours Small Churches

I am all for the church growing through evangelism, but it sounds to me like [Brave New Church] is drawing less from the unchurched and more from people leaving another church to be a part of it. Of course, if they are getting saved through the ministry of BNC, that’s great (and also a sad indication of the weakness of other congregations in terms of real evangelism). However, I wonder about whether there is a kind of “Wal-Mart effect” in small communities of having one large church with whom the smaller churches simply cannot compare programatically, etc.

Huh. That’s an interesting way to put it. I have images of an Imperial Wal-Mart church coming in and offering a slick, packaged experience that sucks in all the fence-sitters in the town’s churches.

It has to be true: we see the phenomenon as mom-and-pop stores lose out to big-box stores, and local bookstores (ran by Meg Ryan, of course) lose out to Fox Books Borders. In a consumeristic culture such as ours, is there any wonder that it could definitely be a part of the Church?

Of course, just because the Wal-Mart Church is happening doesn’t answer the question if it is right.In an interview with Ed Young back in 2006, he is asked this very thing: “Is there a danger of “Wal-Marting” nearby competing churches into oblivion”and Ed replies that “That mentality is like ants fighting over which one is going to eat the elephant.” But a contemporary at the time had much more to say:

Our country is full of consumeristic expectations which drives our “customer is always right,” “get it in a half an hour,” “have it your way” mentality…If you are inclined to see the church as a place to get your felt-needs met, then this model might work well for you since you can get the programs you want, in the amount of time you desire, with a well choreographed staff. Parking ministry, singles ministry, college-age, high-school, and youth groups galore might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Hey, there’s enough fish in the sea, right? We should celebrate one church’s success and be thankful that people are getting filled, right? On one level, yes. But on another level, like small stores that slowly are ran outta business no matter how amazing they are, churches could try to match Wal-Mart Churches toe to toe and end up getting burned and losing their mission and identity:

I say all of this because I am concerned that those churches which are trying to go deep with the gospel and see emotional/racial/social/and economic wounds healed, may feel the need to keep up with a monster like [the Wal-Mart Church] moving into their neighborhood.

Setting aside whether multi-site churches are too uniform and homogenous to truly get at the deep issues, what do you think about this concept of well-funded and method tried-and-true churches becoming multi-site and radically transforming rural communities?

Is this awesome in that it brings in new people and turns stagnant communities into viable places for ministry, churning out new or renewed followers of Christ in their communities?

Is this bogus in that it sucks away marginal members of small congregations who still fund or support the church and thus make it harder for them to remain in ministry in their particular niches, which the multi-site congregation may not pay attention to?

Comments

In 1950 the vast majority (90+%) of hotels/motels were independent organizations. By 2000 the stat was completely inverse . . . with the only a small percentage left as independent operations. I think the same thing is about to happen with the multi-site church movement. Within our life time there will be a handful of “national brand” churches that will have hundreds of locations.

Just two days ago my mother and I were having this same conversation. She’s a Methodist deacon in a Methodist church in my hometown in rural Ohio.

The thought I have about this situation is the theological atmosphere in the communities in question. In the case of CUMC, they are losing out to megachurches- three in a town with a population of 22,000! The other Methodist churches in the area imitate the megachurches theologically and culturally.

Where does that leave CUMC? Dying. And what’s worse, that church is one of the very few voices of Christian liberalism in the area. If my home church folds, the only voices left are isolated in large conservative congregations. Without CUMC, there is very little theological diversity in the area, and that’s a cultural issue. When the church is seen as anti-drinking, anti-dancing, anti-gay, and deeply suspicious of anything that smacks of “the occult,” the already deep rift between Christians and the unchurched widens.

Where are the Christians who will build cultural bridges? Who will present an alternative perspective? Unfortunately, they’re passing on to heaven one by one and leaving our pews empty.

I am glad somebody took the time to think more about my comment; the blog author on which I left the original comment did not respond in great depth – thanks for picking up the question and running with it – loved the post – continues to be a big question for me!

The two questions at the end of your post really get to the heart of the matter. Part of me wants to be able to somehow answer “yes” to both questions – it is somehow awesome and bogus at the same time . . . however, that obviously makes no sense. In the original post from Tim Stevens’ blog (leadingsmart.com), the particular congregation (now called Brand New Church) in question had orginated as a small/dying congregation in rural Arkansas that allowed themselves to change and subsequently have grown massive. To me, that is a very different scenario than Megachurch A from the nearest big town coming in and launching a satelite campus. . . sommething about that feels kind of predatory / Wal-Martish. In the case of Brand New Church, while I have very mixed feeling about who they may be really reaching, I do give them credit for being willing to make difficult changes in terms of their preferences, etc. in order to try and reach more people.

Yes the Brand New Church is growing, yes people are some of God’s Word. I have attended the main campus in Bergman, Arkansas, and I did not feel God present there. 1. the Pastor spoke on giving (money) to the church, and I attend more than one time. 2. The pastor is preaching on money,sex,marriage,porno. I have watched his messages on the internet and I never see or hear the Pastor preach on salvation, healing, having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m I wrong to believe that without teaching salvation and faith, how is it possible for them to learn how much God loves them.

I had the unfortunate experience of attending BRAND NEW CHURCH in Bergman, Arkansas on Easter Sunday, 2009. My sister has somehow become a member, and coming from a Catholic family, I am VERY CONFUSED!!!!!!

Anyways, lets get to the good stuff, my review of BRAND NEW CHURCH!!!!!

I knew right away that stuff was going to be strange. When we drove up in the parking lot, there were people standing in the rain waiving at everybody, you know, doing the fake “C’mon in!!!” thing. I knew right away that this people were out where the buses don’t run. I then made my way inside of the building where the service was to be held. The first thing that I noticed was that a lot of the people at this event looked like people that were on probation or something. CREEPY….. Anyways, I made my way into the main room with my other sister and my 11 year old niece, who could not stop laughing at the strange people surrounding here (Hebrew’s…a coffee shop called Hebrew’s…CHEESY!!!!!!). I was then treated to a darkened theater where BIZARRE hip hop beats played and some people were up on the stage BREAKDANCING!!!!!!!!!…..

My family and I then took our seats, and the real fun began….The lights dimmed and a band appeared that looked like the Jonas Brothers..(I am not kidding..)..This group then preceeded to produce some of the most WUSSED OUT sounds that I have EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!!!!….A real church has a choir and a REALLY GOOD ORGAN PLAYER…At Brand New church you get a really BAD 4-piece Christian Rock band….BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Then……just when you think that it could not get any worse, the so called minister came out (If this guy is a minister, then I am a Clingon that wants to hang out with Captain Kirk!!!)…What a phony man!!!!!!…Think a born again guy that looks like a rally FAT Bill Clinton!!!!!…This guy is a disgrace to any REAL minister…He would say stuff like “Awesome!!!” and would EVEN DANCE WHEN THE AWFUL BAND WOULD PLAY!!!!!

Blessed and righteous are those who come to Christ as they are, whether it be in your “Sunday clothes” or fat and dancing to strange music! The meek are those who humble themselves before God. That doesn’t necessarily mean they refrain from outlandish garb, or dying their hair purple, or enjoying hip hop, or playing a rock version of Rock of Ages. To hear the message, to have faith because of the Truth rather than to believe it is true because we have faith, to share the “awesome” qualities of Jesus to another in absolutely any forum available is the point! If one can do that in either a most liturgical or most radical medium then it should be done. I wonder if the Almighty condemned David for dancing like a crazy man because of his joy for God? Hear the message and love the messenger as yourself and how odd a church seems won’t matter a whiff. And then, give all you can to spread that message!

Look, if these churches are teaching sound doctrine, are spiritually alive, are engaging the population more than some of the churches that are fizzling out with average age of attendees over 55 yrs old, they have worship music that is authentic and gifted teaching pastors there is nothing wrong with the church growing. I see it as God blessing a church that is effective in sharing the gospel and i pray that may continue to reach more and more people with the message of Jesus Christ, not so that they are big churches, but so that more of the lost can hear the good news. In that our good is designed and God gets the glory – I see nothing inherently wrong with these churches growing.

So much for the “Autonomy” of the local church . . .
The consumer mentality of the people who claim to be Christian is sin, plain and simple.
So Americans have become so “brand” conscious all they care about is what other people think about where they go to church.
If there is a problem with the small local church it is because selfish human beings have left their first love and have departed to raise up for themselves false teachers who make them feel good or even not make them feel bad about their sinfulness.

Wow! Some of these comments are razor sharp…I pastor a church in a rural community in Maryland. Been around for 118 years. Two years ago we felt God lead us to make some changes in our focus: to move from emphasizing ‘us’ to focusing outward towards people who don’t personally know Jesus. In preparing for this change, my mentors and leaders I have been studying under all point current research to the fact that larger churches more effectively reach people with the Gospel of Jesus. They have a great focus, value people over traditions, and take risks to make the message relevant / understandable to the culture around them, something smaller, inward and in many cases dying churches will never do. We have 28 churches in our community and only several are growing, winning people to the historic Christian faith that can save us. None of our churches are ‘mega’ but we push the 100 mark on Sunday mornings with 60+ families. We read about Brand New Church’s journey, which paralleled ours, and incorporated some of their principles of change and leadership to help turn our church around. We were dying in 2011-majority of our families were over 60 yrs old, few teens and children, poor Sunday attendance, few decisions for Christ. Two years later you wouldn’t recognize our church! Hats off to the example of large churches that have a vision to reach people for Jesus. Smaller churches, led without a mission to reach lost people for Jesus, will continue to lose members that are hungry not only to be saved but to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Oh my, Amen brother! The fixation on what so many believe “church” is supposed to be is, in my estimation, the quintessential image of tradition at its worst. As a worship leader in a rural church, I see firsthand how few souls are won to Christ, how ineffective we are at creating disciples and reaching the un-churched because of tradition. Very few new members, youth, and young families, giving and outreach. The decision making process is antiquated and bogged down as the “sacred cows” determine not only every move the church makes but also the vision for the ministry. By clinging to these ineffective traditions, without regard to our culture, we choose to allow the lost to fend for themselves. We choose to do our own will in place of God’s will for us. We position ourselves to be viewed as hypocrites because we are right and everyone else is wrong rather than to take a position of openness and love for all those that society hates. That is the church. We are not the church. Reaching people in a culturally relevant and scripturally sound method can sometimes require a lot of funding in addition to just keeping the doors open. I think people don’t get that. No one likes to be asked for money but we all are responsible for how expensive it is to live in this society. Tradition suggests it is wrong when churches focus on giving. However, everyone is moved by the Christ like acts of missionaries at home and abroad, feeding the hungry and ensuring needy families have Christmas gifts for their children and the like. Ya gotta give for that to happen. Kudos to all those whom are unafraid to challenge tradition in order to reach a single lost soul!